BELO HORIZONTE, Brazil – In a rarity, simply making the walk to the octagon was enough to bring tears to Rony “Jason” Mariano Bezerra.

So imagine his reaction after he had beaten Godofredo “Pepey” de Oliveira to become the first winner of “The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil.” Bezerra, the top pick of coach Wanderlei Silva on the show, won a unanimous decision to win the season’s featherweight crown.

The fight took place at UFC 147 at Estadio Jornalista Felipe Drumond in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. The featherweight finals of “TUF: Brazil” aired on pay-per-view following prelims that aired on Facebook and FX.

Bezerra, like the majority of fighters on the first international edition of “TUF,” had a meager upbringing. Simply walking to the cage for his official UFC debut had him in tears in the fighter prep circle. And after beating de Oliveira with 29-28 scores across the board, the tears flowed even more freely.

“I’m very pleased, and I’m very thankful,” Bezerra said after the fight. “It’s a great honor for me. I’ve slept without being in a home, and you can always dream this – go out and make it happen.”

The two 145-pounders slugged it out early. But de Oliveira pulled guard and attempted to work from his back, looking for a kimura. While striking from the bottom, “Pepey” was warned for strikes to the back of the head. After the action stalled, referee Marc Goddard stood the fighters up – and after that, it was nearly all Rony “Jason.”

When Bezerra would land, de Oliveira would call him forward. But that may have proved to be a mistake, as Bezerra landed some good shots after the gesturing. In the third, Bezerra landed a big right on a counter – his biggest shot of the fight. Although de Oliveira appeared to be throwing more, it was Bezerra who was landing more. And that seemed to resonate with the judges.

Twice in the fight, de Oliveira landed low blows against Bezerra with kicks. On the second, which came in the third round, de Oliveira nearly begged referee Marc Goddard not to take a point away – knowing, no doubt, that it would be devastating for his chances to win the fight on the scorecards. After the fight, de Oliveira had to be held back from continuing to go after Bezerra as they exchanged words. But ultimately, they hugged it out before the official decision was read.

Bezerra made UFC history as the first winner of an international “TUF” season, picking up the same famed six-figure contract that is awarded to winners of the edition of the show that has aired for 15 seasons in the United States.

“I’m very happy to have been the first ‘TUF: Brazil’ winner,” he said. “I had a game plan, and I was able to execute it, defending his takedowns mostly. I didn’t want to risk it too much with ‘Pepey’ being such a tough opponent, but I want to go back to putting on great shows like I have before.”

Bezerra (11-3 MMA, 1-0 UFC) remained unbeaten in his professional MMA career, while de Oliveira (8-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) lost for the first time in his career.

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